My Flame
by Meadow Wood
Summary: Without his burning flame, Charizard would die. He would have no strength. No determination. No life. Ash Ketchum contemplates a similar theory for the existence of his best friend Misty Waterflower - Dedicated to AshandMistyLove.


**My Flame  
**

_Pokemonstories-crazy_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

**Type of Story: **One-Shot.

**Author's Notes: **Hey friends! Here I am, with another one-shot. :P This ones for AshandMistyLove, who is one of the biggest Pokeshipping fans I know! **Note: I am Pokemonstories-crazy. I changed my name to Meadow Wood. **Without any further ado, here it is! Enjoy! THIS IS DEDICATED TO ASHANDMISTYLOVE! :D

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**R**aw.

His hands were raw; covered in blisters, bruises and scratches. Deep cuts ran along his fingers, making them throb when there was movement. He had spent hours now, staying awake in the midst of twilight, rubbing his Charizard's skin to keep it warm. After a horrifying occurence with an ice beam, his fire-type was low on energy and his flame was diminishing. Ash was desperate to help his mischevious Pokemon get better. If Charizard's flame went out, his life would be gone too.

The raven-haired boy's eyes drooped and his shoulders ached. He was not used to staying up so late, but his inner stubborness wouldn't allow him to take a rest. Pikachu, who had been with Ash the whole time, had finally fallen asleep and was wrapped in a blanket with Tracey. The young watcher was also in dreamland, sleeping with his sketchbook still in his hands.

Ash's best friend and aspiring Water Trainer, also seemed to be snoozing, her breathing soft and rythmetic.

The only one awake was Ash, and as he rubbed his hands on the rough surface of Charizard's orange back, he let out a small groan. It was _way _past his bedtime. Still, he refused to give up. He could see Charizard's tail's flame burning out, slowly but surely, but this only made Ash's determination rise.

Even though Charizard rarely listened to him, and always got some hot fire in his face, burning this young boy to crisps - Ash loved all his Pokemon. Even though the giant, high-leveled beast was constantly causing trouble, the raven-haired boy could vividly remember when he was a small Charmander left by it's nasty trainer. A wave of nostalgia passed over him.

He rubbed harder.

The minutes ticked by slowly, his hands turning redder and his eyes closing and then blinking open suddenly. He couldn't fall asleep. But _oh, _did he want to. It was almost too much to take. _But I have to, I've got to get Charizard's flame a little brighter. I can't spare a Pokemon's life because I was too weak to handle a little hard work...I must..._

"Ash?"

Ash felt a hand on his shoulder, but didn't attempt to turn around. He knew it was Misty. "Hey Mist. What're you doin' up?"

"I should be asking _you _the _same _question!"

Ash concentrated on warming up his fire-type, but he could feel Misty burning holes into his back. With a sigh, he turned around and crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you want?" he demanded in annoyance.

"Well, I was sleeping when I slightly opened my eyes and saw you were _still _awake."

"I've gotta help Charizard!" Ash said seriously, unfazed by the red-haired girl's expaserated tone. He tried to whirl back around, but Misty grabbed his arms and pulled him back. "You listen to _me_, and you listen good."

"Ugh, Misty! You're not my mother, so please let me go-"

"You've been awake all night and it's nearly three!" Misty screeched. "You have dark circles under your eyes, your hands are completely red, and you look like you're about to faint."

"Do not! I do _not _look like I'm about to faint."

"But you look completely exhausted." Misty said back, her voice softer this time. She put both her hands on his shoulders, narrowing her eyes. "Please understand and get some rest."

Ash squirmed uncomfortably under her grip, and couldn't help but notice that his best friend's face was slightly pink from touching him. His eyes bore into hers, and he blinked back in surprise. They were the most brilliant colour he had ever seen.

_Green, flecked with blue...aquamarine. _

His mouth felt dry and he couldn't even feel the pulsing of his pained fingers as he stared at her gorgeous pupils. Misty was noticing the same thing as she admired his two pools of brown. Her heart sped up.

_Brown, flecked with hazel...chocolate toffee. _

They both didn't make a move to stop, and continued to be engulfed in each other's eyes, both unable to tear their gaze away. It was like this was the first time they had seen one another's pupils. It was like magic, and they both could swear they saw sparks.

Finally, with a nervous cough, Ash said. "Um, I'm fine Misty. L-let me continue warming up Charizard."

Immediately, Misty's jittery amazement vanished. Her expression became stern. "Oh, no you don't Ash Ketchum. You will kill yourself if you stay up and torture your poor hands the whole entire night."

"My hands are completely fine!"

"I'll be the judge of that.."

Before Ash could reply or even figure out what she meant, the red-headed teenager had taken hold of his hands. "..mmm..see.." she traced her finger gently around his battered blisters, grimacing. "I think we might need to get these bandaged up."

"Mist.." Ash pleaded. "I'm fine."

She ignored him, continuing to examine his hands. They trembled slightly, and she couldn't help but feel incredibly sorry for the brown-eyed boy. He always went through so much for his Pokemon. With compassion and admiration, she brought his right hand to her mouth and kissed the palm of it gently.

Ash froze. _H-had Misty just...kissed his hand? _If his hands had been trembling before, they were now right out shaking from anxiety and shock. He tried to stammer some words, but failed pathetically. Instead, he just looked at a blushing Misty. He was stunned.

Feeling his cheeks warm, he realized that he himself was probably as red as Charizard's flame. It also struck him that he hadn't disliked the sudden movement from Misty. Dare he say..he had quite enjoyed it?

_What am I supposed to say now... _"Uh, t-thanks Misty?" he managed to stutter, slowly pulling his hands away from her and placing them on his lap.

"No problem." Misty stuttered back, her bangs now covering her eyes as she looked at the ground. "N-no problem at all."

They sat, avoiding each other's eyes for a lengthy period of silence. A zubat chirped in the night sky, a cool wind whistling past them. Tracey's snoring filled the air as they quietly resumed to doing nothing.

"I - I'll go back to warming up Charizard now.." Ash was the first to break the silence, and furrowing his brow, he turned his back to Misty. Taking a shaky breath, he proceeded to do what he was previously doing. Rubbing Charizard's fiery coat, despite the fact that he was down right tired and his hands were burning intensly.

Misty watched him grunt and moan. She didn't know why she had tried to get him to go to sleep. He would always be too stubborn. _Always_. But then, she sort of liked his stubborn personality. It reminded her of..herself. With a smile breaking through her face, she crawled over beside him.

Ash looked at her in surprise.

"I'll help you Ash."

Ash beamed, and together, the two best friends and perhaps slowly approaching something more, worked to keep Charizard's flame going. They chatted quietly, but mostly they enjoyed the comfortable silence of being together. For who knew..how long they would always be like this? _Things change..people change..._Misty knew this, but right now, she was too happy to care. She always wanted things to be like this, and she needed to savour the moment. She wanted to create memories with Ash Ketchum. Just like this one.

Ash, on the other hand, was musing other thoughts to himself. He couldn't feel his hands anymore, but he didn't care. He had too much going on in his mind now, but none of it was clear or made sense. Who was Misty? What was she? A best friend, sure...but Brock was his best friend too..yet..there was something different about Misty.

As Ash's eyes trailed to Charizard's tail, the flame suddenly grew stronger. He shared a overjoyed smile with Misty, and they worked even harder. It occured to Ash that without his flame, Charizard could never live. He would die. He would have no strength. No power. No determination. No life in him.

That's when it clicked.

Misty was Ash's life. He would die without her. He would have no strength. No power. No determination. No life in him.

Ash Ketchum had his very own flame, just like Charizard.

Misty Waterflower.

_Misty Waterflower was his flame._

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**Author's Notes: **Nothing much to say, really. I hope you enjoyed this short one-shot. I truly enjoyed writing it! Again, I still am Pokemonstories-crazy, with just a different name. :D The Journey of Love is on hiatus...sorry. I just really want to finish up "Night Adventure." and "The Alphabet Challenge." before I continue with that one. I learned the hard way that keeping three stories at a time is quite difficult. Once those two are completed, TJOL will be back on track and better than ever! I'm trying to upload a one-shot weekly, but no promises. :D LATER FRIENDS!

Now, what can I say? HAPPY LATE EASTER. HAPPY WRITING.

Reviews are greatly appreciated and treasured.


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